Hi Everyone
As you can see I am new to AI. I did a search for this topic but it didn't return anything.
Is it true that the G4 doesn't take advantage of DDR? If so why does Apple have DDR in the Mini?
I'm sorry if I got it wrong but I did read it somewhere I'm sure.
Thanks
Guinea
Comments
Apple is most likely using DDR SDRAM in all of its G4 systems because of availability and pricing issues compared to PC133 SDRAM, or nonexisting PC167 SDRAM. And there is a certain level of marketability involved too.
Does it cause much of a bottleneck in the system?
Guinea
As far as bandwidth limitations go, it doesn't seem too bad. I ripped a bunch of CDs on my mini today, and it burns a song to MP3 format very quickly (maybe 10sec/song by my estimates). Encoding is typically a high-bandwidth application, but it seemed to hold up pretty well.
Does anybody know if the mini uses the same controller as in prior G4s, namely one that actually does support DDR speed to the memory?
Taking into account the pipeline length of the G4 and its width, I would venture to guess that the current FSB bandwidth is enough for the 1.5 GHz chip, but barely.
Originally posted by lundy
The G4 desktop towers used DDR, but only between the memory and the controller. The frontside bus itself was, as mentioned, 167 mhz - that's the design of the 60x Moto bus.
Does anybody know if the mini uses the same controller as in prior G4s, namely one that actually does support DDR speed to the memory?
That's true. The DDR bandwidth was utilized in PowerMac G4s in limited ways. But it made practically no difference in everyday use as shown at this page here:
http://www.barefeats.com/pmddr.html
It did make a difference in a highly unusual situation like this:
http://www.barefeats.com/pmddr5.html
For the mini, it seems that DDR RAM is used for cost and marketing reasons only.